Vungle opens office in Singapore to support APAC expansion

Will drive the development, sales and marketing of the mobile platform

VUNGLE, a performance marketing platform for in-app video ads, on Sept 27 announced it has opened an office in Singapore, the latest step in its expansion throughout the Asia-Pacific region (APAC).

The Singapore office will be instrumental in driving the development, sales and marketing of the mobile platform across Southeast Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Revenue from publishers based in the region grew by 177% in the second quarter of 2017 when compared to the prior year, far outpacing Vungle’s worldwide growth rate in the same period.

“App Annie projects that APAC will outpace other regions and hit US$77 billion by 2021. Based on similar reports and what we’re experiencing in the region, we know APAC is poised for significant growth,” said Vungle CEO Zain Jaffer.

Vungle’s investment in the Singapore office, expected to grow to 25 people by 2020, has support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

The company made prior investments in the region which began with opening an office in Beijing in 2014, followed by Tokyo and Seoul in 2015.

Vungle has seen success in the Chinese market, which grew from 7% of global revenue in the beginning of 2015 to 20% in recent months, growing over 1,000% in absolute dollar terms in the same period.

Anton Fok, GM of Vungle's regional business said “By opening the office in Singapore we will be able to work more closely with publishers and advertisers across all of Southeast Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. With this office opening and the strong support from EDB, we hope to be able to lead the way in transforming Singapore into a truly Smart Nation.”

The digital ad market is also heating up in India and is expected to surpass the US$1 billion mark in 2017.

Vungle has seen growth in this market as well, with a 181% increase in revenue and a 172% increase in user growth in Q2 compared to the prior year.

“The mobile advertising industry in Asia is growing dramatically, and this presents a huge opportunity for advertisers and publishers in the region,” said Artur Grigorjan, head of marketing growth at Playrix.

“Vungle is known as a leader in the in-app advertising space globally, and is driving top conversion rates through their creative innovation and technology. That’s why they’re a trusted partner of Playrix as both an advertiser and publisher."

This has been a banner year for Vungle. In addition to reaching a US$300 million annual revenue run rate, Vungle released a software developer kit (SDK) for Amazon Fire tablets, making it the first video performance marketing platform that developers can use to monetize their apps across all major app operating systems.

The company also released the Vungle SDK 5.0 and 10 new Dynamic Templates earlier this year.

“When we look beyond the data that only focuses on volume, we’re able to identify and target loyal, high-value consumer audiences that generate significant ROI for our advertisers. This is driving growth for our partners and enabling Vungle’s continued expansion," explained Jaffer.

Ang Chin Tah, director, Infocomms and Media, Singapore Economic Development Board, said “We are delighted that Vungle has chosen to expand their Asia Pacific operations from Singapore.

“This will add to our base of digital capabilities across different infocomms and media sectors, such as ad-tech. Vungle will also groom hybrid talent – individuals with both technical and creative skill-sets, capable of designing user centric and commercially successful products.”